Hearing set in restaurant owner’s quest for new trial

GENEVA – A hearing was set in the case of a restaurant owner who was convicted last year of squeezing a waitress’s breast against her will. The hearing is regarding whether he was properly advised of his right to a jury trial.

Kane County Judge Katherine Moran ruled Monday in response to court papers seeking either a reversal of the conviction or a new trial.

Moran convicted Dimitrios V. Lolis, 54, of St. Charles – owner of The Copper Fox Cafe, 305 W. Main St., St. Charles – in a bench trial last year.

The misdemeanor charge stems from a complaint Aug. 20, 2011, alleged by Katy Green, 24, of Geneva, then a waitress at the Copper Fox.

Lolis attorney Glenn Sowa filed court papers asserting, among other things, that Moran erred when she “did not adequately inform the defendant of his right to a jury trial,” and he wasn’t told he could change his mind.

Sowa said a judge must admonish a defendant regarding the waiver of a jury trial to make sure it is freely and voluntarily made and in this case. He said Moran did not do that.

Moran set March 18 for a hearing on the issue of Lolis’ waiver of his right to a jury trial.

Sowa said the hearing will seek evidence of what actually happened regarding the jury waiver, which was dated Jan. 19, 2012, in Lolis’ case.

“There is no record or recollection” of what actually happened regarding Lolis’ jury trial waiver,” Sowa said. “It is not unusual in a high volume traffic court with no court reporter.”

Moran ruled against two other claims by Sowa, that Moran erred when she denied an earlier motion to dismiss the complaint because it does not state an offense and on witness credibility.